Not on the strength of the self-petition alone. A pending Form I-360 does not authorize you to travel and return, and the receipt notice is not a travel document. What you can do depends on whether you also have an adjustment application pending, how much unlawful presence you have accrued, and whether USCIS grants you advance parole.
That last point became more important in August 2026, when a Board of Immigration Appeals decision changed how a departure under advance parole is treated for the three-year and ten-year bars. The rule is technical, but the practical question is simple: if you leave, can you come back without creating a new ground of inadmissibility?
What the self-petition does and does not give you
A VAWA self-petition asks USCIS to classify you as an abused spouse of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. If the petition is approved, you may be able to apply for a green card, USCIS may consider you for deferred action on a case-by-case basis, and you may be eligible to apply for work authorization. The approval is not a visa, a green card, or a travel document. Our spousal VAWA page describes the petition itself, and our page on work authorization after a VAWA case explains that separate benefit.
While the I-360 is pending, you may receive a receipt notice and, in some cases, a prima facie determination. Neither one lets you leave and reenter. A prima facie determination means USCIS has reviewed the initial evidence and found that it appears to meet the basic requirements. It does not grant status, and it does not function as parole.
If you have an adjustment application pending
If your I-360 has been approved and you have filed Form I-485 to adjust status, you may request advance parole on Form I-131 before you travel. The rule is strict: if you leave the United States while an adjustment application is pending without first obtaining advance parole, the departure is treated as an abandonment of the application (8 CFR 245.2(a)(4)(ii)(A)).
Advance parole is discretionary. It is not a guarantee that you will be paroled back into the United States, and it does not erase inadmissibility. Our page on advance parole processing explains how the document is requested and what the current wait generally looks like.
The August 2026 change to advance parole
For years, practitioners treated advance parole as a way to travel without triggering the unlawful presence bars, based on Matter of Arrabally and Yerrabelly. That changed on August 13, 2026. In Matter of Delcarmen-Lara, 29 I&N Dec. 830 (BIA 2026), the Board overruled Arrabally and held that a departure under advance parole is a departure for purposes of INA 212(a)(9)(B)(i)(II). USCIS posted the decision as an immediate change for people with valid advance parole documents and describes it as applying to section 212(a)(9)(B)(i), the provision that contains both the three-year and ten-year bars.
The consequence is direct. If you were unlawfully present for more than 180 days but less than one year and then depart, you may be inadmissible for three years when you seek admission again. If you were unlawfully present for one year or more, the bar is ten years (INA 212(a)(9)(B)(i)). Advance parole still preserves the pending adjustment application under the separate abandonment rule, but it no longer shields you from the unlawful presence consequence of leaving.
Unlawful presence is counted under specific rules, and time while an application is pending can be treated differently. Do not estimate your own dates from memory. A short overstay and a long one produce different results, and the date you left matters as much as the date you return.
If you have no adjustment application on file
Without a pending I-485, there is no advance parole based on the adjustment case. To return after a trip, you would generally need a valid visa or another travel document. A pending immigrant petition can make a nonimmigrant visa difficult, because the visa officer must be satisfied that you intend a temporary visit (INA 214(b)).
If your I-360 is approved while you are abroad, USCIS can send the petition to the National Visa Center for consular processing. That path can work, but it usually means waiting abroad, completing civil documents and a medical exam, and facing any inadmissibility issues at the consulate. It is not a quick fix for a trip that has already been booked.
Short trips and emergencies
There is no exception for a weekend in Canada or Mexico. A departure is a departure for the abandonment rule, and the August 2026 decision applies to any departure under advance parole. If you have an emergency, the safest course is to speak with an attorney before you leave, not after you arrive.
If you are leaving because you fear for your safety, that decision comes first. Tell someone you trust and, if possible, an attorney, so the immigration consequences can be planned alongside the practical ones. A pending case does not require you to stay in a dangerous home.
Questions we hear
Can I travel with my I-360 receipt notice?
No. A receipt notice proves that USCIS received the petition. It is not a visa, a parole document, or permission to reenter.
Can I travel after my I-360 is approved?
If you have a pending adjustment application and advance parole, possibly. If you have no adjustment application, you would normally need to complete the case abroad through consular processing. Approval of the self-petition alone does not create a travel document.
Does advance parole guarantee that I can come back?
No. Parole is discretionary, and a port of entry can still find you inadmissible. The August 2026 decision adds the unlawful presence analysis for people who accrued more than 180 days before departing.
What if I already left without advance parole?
A pending adjustment application may be treated as abandoned. The options depend on your status, your departure date, and whether you have another basis to return. Speak with an attorney before attempting to reenter, and do not enter without inspection.
Planning before you book
The right answer depends on facts that are easy to misread: your last authorized stay, any overstay, the dates you filed the I-360 and the I-485, and whether advance parole has been granted. We handle spousal VAWA self-petitions, including same-sex marriages, and we can review your travel history and the timing of a trip before you leave. Contact us to talk through your situation.